


The End of SHIELD

by WhiteravenGreywolf



Series: If I stay [27]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, Flashback, Monica centric story, Monica is her moms daughter, Post-Winter Soldier, aka a real badass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-06 21:12:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18396446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteravenGreywolf/pseuds/WhiteravenGreywolf
Summary: Carol comes back only to hear that SHIELD has been destroyed. Maria and Monica tell her what happened.





	The End of SHIELD

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Raise your hand if you forgot Winter Soldier happened between Avengers 1 and 2 but you were so excited thinking: 'can't wait to see Carol in Age of Ultron' that you forgot completely about WS!  
> Here's the thing, I could not have maintained Winter Soldier has it happened in the movie if Carol had been here, and for a good reason: she would have busted through those helicarriers as if they were made of craft paper! But guess who could have completely gone through WS without changing much: Maria and Monica. I think it's time to give them a bit of a badass moment, don't you think?

Maria had forced Carol to change before she'd sat her down on the couch, opposite both Monica and her. Carol had ditched her Starforce uniform for an old tank top and sweatpants. Her mind was running wild with no end of the line in sight. In fact, there was no line, no train of thoughts to follow anymore, just little broken pieces of thoughts that didn't quite add up. Things Carol had not noticed before, like the edge of a bandage peeking out of Monica's shirt, or the thin red line of a fresh wound on Maria's forehead, hidden under her hair.

  
"I was only gone for four days..." was the first thing Carol said after the three of them had sat down to talk.

  
"It was a very quick downfall," Monica replied. "Between the moment Uncle Nick faked his death and the destruction of the Triskellion..."

  
Carol frowned. Her mind was torn between so many questions it was almost impossible to determine which one was a priority at this point.

  
"Fury faked his death?"

  
"He's alright. Just a broken arm. We're actually going to his 'funeral' in two days. He'll be there."

  
Carol sighed longly.

  
"Of course he'd want to go to his own goddamn funeral."

  
She reclined back into the couch, arms crossed. Her eyes fell on the dirty white ceiling above her. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on the situation at hand. All thoughts of Xandar and a possible maniac invading Earth were gone. It was obvious there were a lot more things to priorities.

  
"What happened?" she finally asked as she pushed herself to look at both her girlfriend and her daughter. "Tell me in details."

* * *

  
  
The death of Nick Fury could be felt around the hangar, even on a supposed happy day like this one, where they were launching project Insight. However, Monica was not mourning, not anymore anyway. Not after she'd woken up to find a series of encoded, secret messages on her phone. She may have been a simple pilot, but she knew a few things about codes, and all of that she owed to a single man, and old colonel turned spy turned uncle.

  
It had taken her all but two minutes to decode the message. It was not signed, but the reason why she knew this code so well was that she had invented it, with the help of a certain former director. Who was supposed to be dead.

  
Monica walked through the hangar at a brisk pace, toward the locker room where she knew her mother must have been. She walked in past all the other female pilots who were changing and chatting, and stopped beside Maria, who was putting her things away, the front of her bodysuit still open, revealing a tank top, which, by the looks of it, she had stolen from Carol's side of the wardrobe – as if there were still sides of the wardrobe between these two.

  
"Hey, heard anything from Carol yet?" she asked.

  
Maria closed off her locker and zipped up her suit.

  
"No. She hasn't called me so I suppose she should be back today or tomorrow."

  
Monica nodded. She looked around. There were too many people here. They needed a place where no one would look for them.

  
"Hey, could you come and help me with something? There's this Quinjet I piloted yesterday, I think there's a problem with the stick. I couldn't see anything wrong but maybe you will."

  
"Sure, no problem."

  
Maria followed Monica out of the locker room and into the hangar, and all the way to the back of the large open room, in a corner, where jets of all kinds were stashed, for an emergency. Monica picked up one which didn't look too broken down and led Maria inside. However, before Monica could point her to the fake problem, Maria closed off the hatch and stood by the controls, arms crossed.

  
"You better talk fast."

  
"Who said I wanted to talk?"

  
Maria looked at her with those eyes that said 'I can see right through you'.

  
"Oh, let me lead you to the back of the hangar where no one will look for us because I have a technical difficulty. Who do you think pulled that stupid shit at least once a month to get me alone with her?"

  
Monica sighed.

  
"Carol."

  
"Now speak, before they really start to look for us."

  
"Uncle Nick isn't dead. He sent me messages this morning, using that code we made up together when I was fourteen."

  
Maria let out a long, relieved breath.

  
"Oh thank god. He's alright?"

  
"I suppose he must be, otherwise he wouldn't have texted me."

  
"What did he say?"

  
Monica looked behind them one last time, just in case, then explained in a low voice:

  
"HYDRA has infiltrated SHIELD. Captain America and Natasha are working on something to stop project Insight, but they're going to need everyone's help."

  
Maria nodded, assimilating the information quickly.

  
"I have to be in the control room in ten minutes," Monica explained. "but if you can cover for me, I need to help Cap and Maria to get inside the building."

  
Maria nodded.

  
"I'll see what I can do."

  
"Thank you."

  
Monica was about to open the hatch from the button on the side, but Maria called her back.

  
"Monica, be careful, okay?"

  
Monica nodded. She went back to hug her mother once before she left the jet.

* * *

  
  
Maria walked into the control room quickly, and she found Monica's place without difficulty. Beside her, the other pilot seemed a bit confused.

  
"Where's Monica?" he whispered to her.

  
"Last minute reassignment, they asked me to cover for her."

  
"Really?"

  
She shrugged.

  
"That's why there are two captains Rambeau for, I suppose."

  
She put on her earpiece and focused on the screen.

  
"We are in final launch sequence," a voice said in everyone's ear.

  
The man seating beside agent Carter replied:

  
"We are go on guidance."

  
"All personnel to launch station."

  
Monica walked through a small crowd of agents going the other way, toward their assigned stations. She walked through a metal door out of the hangar and further down a few flights of stairs, into the tunnels leading out of the Triskellion and toward the city. There was a closed-off door there. She looked behind her, to make sure no one had followed her, then she knocked on the door three times, sharply. She stepped aside, and the door was busted off its hinges by a solid super-kick from Captain America himself.

  
He walked past her, followed by a man wearing a metal backpack Monica had never seen, and Maria Hill right behind them.

  
"Where's Natasha?" she asked.

  
"Already at work. We have to get to the control center before they launch these things."

  
Cap and the other man were already running up the stairs, and Monica and Maria followed closely.

  
"The way should be relatively clear, but everyone's been looking everywhere for Captain America. They're going to try and stop him, especially with an outfit like this one."

  
"Yeah, we have a plan for that too."

  
"How do you plan on stopping the helicarriers?"

  
"They can destroy each other if we can recalibrate them."

  
"Maybe it's worth evacuating people, then."

  
She stopped by the hangar door while Maria continued up, behind the two men. She waited until they were out of sight to open the door. She made her way to the elevator, and went down to the sub-levels where the helicarriers were being kept, ready to be launched. As she walked out, she came face to face with one of her co-worker, who looked at her with both confusion and suspicion.

  
"Monica, what are you doing down here? I thought you were supposed to be in the computer room with all the tech guys."

  
She faked a smile.

  
"Yeah, last minute change, don't ask me why. They want me down here for some reason."

  
"Okay..."

  
He took the elevator, and she breathed in a sigh of relief. Suddenly, the speakers came to life, and Captain America's voice echoed in the massive subterranean hangar:

  
"Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers."

  
Monica continued to walk toward one of the helicarriers' side entrance, climbing up the stairs leading to the platform still connected to it, while listening to Steve.

  
"You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there."

  
Up the metal stairs, she found two men keeping watch at the end of the platform. When they saw her approach, their attention was quickly diverted from the speech. She saw them slowly moving their hands toward their weapons. She took in a deep breath and rose her hands.

  
"If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

  
"I'm with the Captain!" she shouted their way.

  
She waited, hoping that she was right and the men in front of her were not HYDRA men. Sure enough, they moved their hands away and she lowered her hands.

  
"We need to stop this helicarrier from flying," she said as she approached them. "I can try something from inside."

  
After exchanging a glance, they let her through.

* * *

  
  
Maria had listened to the speech attentively. She could see everyone around her exchanging glances, trying to identify who was good and who was bad. The main door burst open when one of the special agents, Rumlow, she vaguely remembered, step through, followed by a few of his men. Rumlow walked all the way to the middle of the room, to the tech guy responsible for the launch.

  
"Preempt the launch sequence. Send those ships up now."

  
The tech refused to move. He stared right in front of him, straight at his screen. Maria could see everyone around them getting agitated.

  
"Is there a problem?"

  
The tech guy mumbled something, and Rumlow repeated, louder:

  
"Is there a problem?"

  
"I'm sorry, sir." the tech guys finally replied. "I'm not gonna launch those ships. Captain's orders."

  
Rumlow didn't hesitate. He pulled out his gun and threatened the tech guy, placing the barrel right behind his head.

  
"Move away from your station."

  
Suddenly, agent Carter moved to point her own gun at the HYDRA goon.

  
"Like he said."

  
All at once, all the SHIELD agents around them pointed their weapons, either at Rumlow or his men, Maria included. Being so close to the door, she had a perfect sight on every single one of them.

  
"Captain's orders."

  
"You picked the wrong side, agent."

  
"Depends on where you're standing."

  
For a few seconds, nobody moved. Maria waited nervously, her eyes flying between Rumlow and his men, finger on the trigger. Her arm was becoming somewhat tired of the weight of the gun in her hand. Maria held her breath. Slowly, very slowly, Rumlow lowered his weapon. Then, he seized his knife and sliced Carter's leg. Gunshots echoed all around the room. Maria didn't hesitate. She shot at the men by the door before throwing herself behind the nearest desk. Glass shards flew everywhere, more hard to avoid than bullets. Maria pushed herself up, using the desk as cover, and the emptied her magazine at the men still standing by the door. When all the agents of HYDRA were either dead or gone, everyone acted quickly. As they all started to care for the wounded and evacuate the room, it became obvious that their act of heroism hadn't been enough, and the helicarriers were launching.

* * *

  
  
Monica was making her way through the helicarrier when she heard gunshots coming from outside, and the helicarrier began to shake. She knew it was taking off without even having to look through a window.

  
"Shit!"

  
She ran faster. The door leading to the central computer must have been around somewhere. There had to be an access door nearby. She stopped dead in her tracks and hid behind a corner when a group of agents – HYDRA agents, she assumed – ran past her shouting:

  
"It's Rogers! We have to take him down."

  
Captain America had landed somewhere on the helicarrier to take it down. She followed the group, taking her gun out of its holster. They led her outside, to the runway were a bunch of jets had been parked. There, she found Captain America battling HYDRA goons, his shield at the ready. She thought he was doing very well on his own, but he could probably use a bit of help. She pulled out her weapon and shot down two agents before anyone noticed her. She ducked down behind boxes. Gunshots ran beside her, bouncing off loudly from the metal boxes and concrete ground. She waited until the shots stopped, and dared a look. Five HYDRA agents were aiming her way. She took a deep breath and moved aside just enough to shoot. She hit another one, ducked back. They would be right onto her soon, and there wasn't much she could do to fend off four agents armed with machine guns.

  
She dared to take another shot, and while she managed to touch one, she didn't duck back in time. She felt a sting pass through her entire right side, and she fell back against the concrete ground with a yelp. She waited for more bullets to rain down on her, but they never came. Instead, she found herself hidden behind a circular shield, Captain America standing beside her and helping her up.

  
"You're Carol's daughter, right?" he asked as he helped her lean against the boxes once again.

  
She smirked while looking at her shoulder. And yes, that was definitely a hole.

  
"How did you know? Do we have the same eagerness to throw ourselves into danger?"

  
Steve chuckled.

  
"Something like that. You should probably get off before it's too late."

  
"Depends. Did you blow up every single one of these jets or am I going to have to take a parachute?"

* * *

  
  
Captain America went his way, and Monica climbed onto one of the jets, starting it up easily and driving off of the runway. It would have taken a matter of minutes to land back and run, but that really wasn't her style.

  
"To all SHIELD pilots, this is Pulsar. Captain America could use some aerial support if you know what I mean."

  
She waited for an answer, and soon enough, one came:

  
"Pulsar, this is Hummingbird. We're already on our way up there. See you in a flash."

  
"Copy that."

  
She quickly noticed Captain America's friend from earlier. Out of his backpack, a pair of wings had deployed, with which he was flying very nimbly, avoiding not only the shots from the helicarrier but from a jet still flying behind him. She swirled the plane around, and just as the man was being pursued by rockets launched from the jet, she shot two down and flew around the helicarrier to take a crack at the other jet. The jet had been so focused on the bird-man that its pilot had not noticed the ace pilot coming behind them. She shot it down easily. A few seconds later the bird-man reappeared from under the helicarrier. He waved at her and she waved back. She had to swirl away quickly, however, as the helicarrier's defense started targeting her as well.

  
She dove back toward the ground, where she noticed smoke and fire rising from the jets usually parked outside the main building. She frowned. The next second, another plane appeared in front of her, one that did not wait to even take its aim to shoot. She avoided as many of the shots as she could, but when the plane jolted, sending a wave of pain irradiating through her entire being and reminding her that she had a hole in her shoulder, she knew she'd lost a wing. She lowered the plane back onto the ground and landed urgently. She had barely touched the ground that she jumped out of the piloting seat and went to check on the pilots laying outside of the runway. Many of them were dead, but she managed to push a few awake, and together with the people still conscious they carried out the wounded and ran to the bridge.

  
Above them, the helicarriers gunshots echoed throughout the entire city. Monica stopped running just long enough to look up and watch as the helicarriers fired at each other, and fell through the sky at full speed.

* * *

  
  
Carol, Maria, and Monica watched from afar as Fury, Steve and his new friend talked around what she assumed was Fury's grave. Natasha stopped beside her to watch them as well.

  
"I leave for four days and you two managed to blow up an entire governmental organization."

  
"Would have been quicker if you'd been here."

  
Carol smirked.

  
"Guess I need to find a new job now."

  
"I'm sure you'll find something."

  
"What are you going to do?"

  
"It's top secret."

  
Carol rolled her eyes. As Fury turned around to leave, Nat walked past her and toward Steve. Fury stopped for half a second when he saw the little family standing there, but he continued until he was standing beside them.

  
"I've never seen you wearing a sweater before," Carol commented.

  
"Desperate times, I suppose."

  
"Will we hear from you again, agent Fury?"

  
"Not for some time. But should things become even more complicated than they already are, I might just drop by Louisiana and crash on your couch."

  
"You're always welcome on our couch," Carol said before she hugged Nick.

  
He hugged her back with his good arm. He then hugged Maria and Monica. He started walking away, but after a few steps, he turned around and called out:

  
"Take care, Starforce girl."

  
"You too, old man."


End file.
